Matthew 16:13-20 directly confirms that Jesus is both man and God. He self identifies as the Son of Man and then also praises Peter when Peter identifies Jesus as the Son of the living God.
13 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”[c]
14 “Well,” they replied, “some say John the Baptist, some say Elijah, and others say Jeremiah or one of the other prophets.”
15 Then he asked them, “But who do you say I am?”
16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah,[d] the Son of the living God.”
17 Jesus replied, “You are blessed, Simon son of John,[e] because my Father in heaven has revealed this to you. You did not learn this from any human being. 18 Now I say to you that you are Peter (which means ‘rock’),[f] and upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell[g] will not conquer it. 19 And I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven. Whatever you forbid[h] on earth will be forbidden in heaven, and whatever you permit[i] on earth will be permitted in heaven.”
20 Then he sternly warned the disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.
We could have an interesting discussion on why Jesus told His disciples not to tell anyone that He was the Messiah at this time. Ultimately we can only speculate on this but perhaps a simple explanation is just that it was not yet time to reveal His full identity. In His later ministry He no longer warns people not to tell that He is Messiah… in fact He openly admits He is God.
Jesus makes a strong statement that He is founding His church upon a rock… a solid foundation. Observe that in context of how Jesus refers to church in the gospels He is not referring to a single congregation of believers or a building. Jesus refers to the church as those who accept Him as God, wherever they are across the world and across time.
Further, the rock, which is the foundation of the church can not be simply one man, Peter. Jesus did not come down to live and die among us for Peter to be the foundation of the church… the eternal fellowship of believers in Jesus as God. In context of other scriptures, we know that Jesus is the head of the church, not Peter. In another scripture, Jesus is presented as the groom and the church as the bride… once again clearly putting Jesus as the leader of the church.
The rock upon which the church is built, which all the power of Hell can never conquer is simply the truth that God revealed to Peter and Peter just used to answer Jesus a few moments earlier.
16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah,[d] the Son of the living God.”
The rock that is the foundation of the church is that Jesus is the son of the living God… that Jesus is God.
One might also observe that Jesus did not say the church will not be challenged, but rather that it will not be conquered… destroyed. The church is always challenged and attacked… often by those who claim to be part of the church.
Reflect for a few moments…
- How have you been thinking of Jesus’ earthly ministry? Did you realize He was fully man and fully God? As you think about His earthly ministry, does this bring forth any new insights? What are the implications?
- The most foundational principle for the church is that Jesus is God revealed to us. All Christians fundamentally accept this as fact… or they are not Christian. Does this truth direct the choices you make in your life? Do you study His word daily? Seek Him in prayer as He instructed? Do you submit to Him or plan your own agenda?
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